Will Smith Will Play A Real Life Crime Boss in Netflix’s ‘The Council’

Will Smithis set to take on the role ofNew York Citycrime bossNicky Barnesin his nextNetflixfilm,The Council.

The production will re-unite Smith withConcussionhelmerPeter Landesman, who wrote the screenplay for the new film and will also serve as executive producer.

The Counciltells the story of a crime syndicate of seven African American men who ruledHarlemin the 1970s and early ‘80s. These men (no ordinary crime syndicate) dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state funded by revolutionizing the drug game.

The movie will focus on the dramatic court intrigue between The Council’s king,Nick Barnes,and all the different members as one unlikely protégé emerges.

Barnes, bornLeroy Nicholas Barnes, was famous during the 1970s. He led an international drug trafficking ring in partnership with the Italian American mafia. He was arrested in 1978 and sentenced to life imprisonment, where he became an informant, which led to the fall of The Council.

Barnes died from cancer in 2012.

Will Smithmost recently played the magical Genie inDisney’s live-action filmAladdin.